Samsung Set to Support 8K HDR10+ Streaming Playback

The company is expanding its HDR10+ ecosystem to support 8K streaming.

Samsung has revealed plans to enable 8K HDR10+ playback via its 8K TVs. Though 8K HDR10+ content is not yet available, the company has announced partnerships with several European streaming services -- including CHILI, The Explorers, and MEGOGO -- to provide 8K HDR10+ titles.

"With HDR emerging as one of the most important technologies for ultra-high picture quality, our HDR10+ format enables every image to be accurately displayed on screen just as the creator intended," said Hyogun Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "We will continue to strengthen our industry leadership through establishing partnerships with top streaming service providers and equipping our televisions with the technology needed to support the world's first 8K HDR10+."

HDR10+ is an open, royalty free dynamic metadata solution for high dynamic range developed in partnership with Samsung, Panasonic, and 20th Century Fox. The format allows a compatible display to adjust brightness levels, color saturation, and contrast on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis on specially graded HDR10+ content, producing images that are closer to the director's intent -- similar to the competing Dolby Vision dynamic HDR format.

Currently, HDR10+ is only available in 4K via Amazon Prime Video streaming and select 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs from studios like 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal. HDR10+ playback is supported by all 2019 Samsung HDR TVs, including the company's 4K and 8K QLED models.

Samsung's Q900 8K QLED TV lineup is available in sizes ranging from 55-inches to 98-inches. The Q900 features a native 7,680 x 4,320 resolution 8K panel, quantum dot tech, Direct Full Array Elite local dimming, and AI-powered 8K Upscaling technology, along with HDR10 and HDR10+ playback.

An exact launch date for the first 8K HDR10+ content has not been revealed. Likewise, no US streaming services have announced support for 8K HDR10+ yet.

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